A.C. Flory's Blog, page 33

PowerPoint Master Class with D.Wallace Peach

For those who don’t know, Diana Wallace Peach is an immensely talented writer in the scifi/fantasy genre, but today we’re not talking books. Today we’re talking book trailers, and the graphical wizardry that Diana achieves with PowerPoint.

I have to tell you that despite knowing how to use Power Point as a presentation tool in business, I never knew it could be used to create something like this:

I wish I could show you the whole trailer, but that won’t be available until Diana’s new book launches in mid August. In the meantime, I’m going to share with you what Diana told me when I asked her how on earth she achieved such amazing effects.

Take it away, Diana.

Hi Andrea, my techie friend. Thanks so much for having me over and asking about trailers and how I make mine. I’ll try to give enough information to get someone started.

I’m pretty clueless when it comes to technology, so I rely on my old business days, and I make my trailers using PowerPoint. Yep, just old-fashioned PowerPoint.

I learned by trial and error and just playing around with the program. It’s fairly intuitive, or I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out. I encourage lots of experimentation, and no one should stress – the undo button is our friend.

Finally, don’t try this if you’re facing a deadline. It’s not hard at all, but it is very time-consuming.

Now, to get started, here are ten basic steps:

Start with a blank slide, and “insert” a black rectangle that covers the whole thing.Choose an image (or 2 or 3) that will work as your background and cover the black rectangle. Use copyright-free images, and stretch them to fit if necessary. Pixabay and Unsplash are great resources for free images. Or use your own! (Example 1) Example 1Insert the images that you’re going to blend into your final picture. I chose 4 of them for this tutorial, but for some of my slides, I might have many more. Before I can use them, I might need to remove the background. Note that when you double click on an image, a little box appears in your menu bar that says “Remove Background.” (Example 2) Example 2One at a time I remove the background from the images by marking areas to keep or remove. (Example 3) Example 3Then I’m going to layer the images, rotate them, resize them, and position them until I like how they look. (Example 4). Example 4To make them blend a little better, I right-click on each image and click on “Format Picture.” Here, there are loads of options from softening edges to adding a glow, shadow, or special effects. You can lighten, change contrast, or crop. You can also manipulate color. I softened the edges of these flowers a little, but for most of my composite slides for trailers, I do a lot of manipulation to make them blend into one scene. Just experiment until the slide looks right to you. (Example 5) Example 5Insert text and format it! (Example 6) Example 6Transition: Transition determines how your slides are going to transition from one to the next. Play with the “how” of the transition (fade or wipe, for example) and how many seconds you want it to take. Your whole slide will transition with all its images.Animation: Animation is how to delay the appearance of some images once the transition is underway. Again, you get to play with the “how” and “how fast.” You can have images fade into view or fly in (for example). I will typically create all my slides and then add transitions and animations at the end. You can preview what you’ve done under “Review” and make a hundred adjustments (like I do) until you’re satisfied. (Example 7 – video)Audio: You can add copyright-free music or add your own recording. For me, this means more fiddling with transitions and animations to make the slides line up with the music. Once you’re done you can export the entire trailer to an MP4 video. Easy Peasy! And Have Fun!

Easy Peasy she says! -grin- I don’t know about you, but I still think there’s a bit of magic in there somewhere. I also think that Diana is much more of a techie than she gives herself credit for, so…. I’m making her an Honorary Geek, complete with this lovely engraved award to put on her mantle piece:

If you want to know more about Diana’s work, in both words and graphics, pop into her blog at: https://mythsofthemirror.com/ where you’ll find a welcoming community of authors and readers. I know because I did. Or you can visit her Amazon Author page at: https://www.amazon.com/D-Wallace-Peach/e/B00CLKLXP8/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1 to see all the fantastic novels she’s published.

As for me, I’m so revved up I can hardly wait to start playing around with PowerPoint again.

Have fun,
Meeks

Did I just meet a neural network??

Someone by the name of Darren Alexander-Beckett followed my blog today so I popped into his blog to see what he was about. I found a number of posts so I started reading one…and almost fell off my chair. It looked like English and almost made sense, but in a dream-like, mash-up type way.

So I looked at another post, and another, and it finally hit me…I was looking at the writings of an AI/neural network!

I’ve read about these types of programs before but never expected to see one right here on WordPress. I was so astonished I left a comment asking if that was what it was.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly smart, but the outcome was surprising. When I followed the link back so I could grab the URL, the posts were gone. All that remains is this: https://nowpastthefuture.wordpress.com/

The posts that used to be on the ‘NowPastTheFuture blog have disappeared so someone, and I really don’t think it was the AI, caught my comment and within SECONDS did away with the evidence.

Why, oh why didn’t I take a screenshot when I had the chance? -kicking self-

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas as to who or what might have created this blog, and why, I’d love to hear about them in comments. Prank? Experiment? A test of our gullibility? I really don’t have a clue, but I’m still buzzing with excitement.

cheers,
Meeks

Victorian Government Electricity Rebate – $250

Just a very quick post about the $250 rebate offered by the Andrews Government here in Victoria.

The rebate is available from the 1st of July, 2022, so now.Every Victorian household is eligible.To apply, you will have to go to the Victorian Energy Compare website – click the link to go straight there or click the URL below: https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/You will see:

Click the ‘Submit a $250 Power Saving Bonus application’ button.

From there you will be taken through a number of pages that either request information or ask you to accept terms and conditions.

One of the things you will be asked to provide is a PDF of your electricity bill. If, like me, you receive your bills via email, you will have to download the attached document that details specifics about your bill – i.e. how much energy you’ve used, how much it costs, any solar contributions, etc. That attachment is the PDF they’re requesting. There is also an option to submit a hardcopy of the bill but as I didn’t select it, I don’t know how that would work.

I know the government is trying to get people to use the Energy Compare website – it’s pretty good actually, and I’ve used it in the past – but I can’t help wondering how pensioners without computers, or the skills to use them, are supposed to access this rebate. Smartphone perhaps? But what if you don’t have a smartphone, or don’t know how to use it for things other than making a phone call?

Having spent the last five years of my working life helping to teach computer literacy to Beginners, I know there are a lot of them.

I’m also a little puzzled about why this rebate isn’t being shouted from the rooftops. Then again, I don’t watch much TV so perhaps that’s why I didn’t know about it [thanks for telling me, Megan!].

Anyway, the rebate exists so put in your application and get some relief from the bill shock we’re all experiencing.

cheers,
Meeks

Why the flamingo stands on one leg

Just read a fascinating article about flamingos, and the physics behind that odd, one legged stance. Apparently, all warm blooded creatures lose more body heat in water than in air, so for an animal like the flamingo that feeds on bottom dwelling creatures like crustaceans, the longer it can stay in the water the more it can eat. Therefore…standing on one leg reduces heat loss which then allows them to feed for longer.

But the truly fascinating part is that standing on one leg is a learned behaviour. Mother flamingos teach their young all sorts of social behaviours, including that tricky skill of standing on one leg. The picture below shows a couple of flamingo chicks practising how to ‘dance’ like the adults:

(Credit: Tambako The Jaguar/flickr)

Oh, and that bright pink colour? Apparently that comes from the flamingo’s diet.

If you’re interested in why things are the way they are, I’d highly recommend reading the whole article: https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/flamingos-stand-on-just-one-leg-and-physics-is-the-surprising-reason-why-c3fac3514cc1

Have a great week,
Meeks

View at Medium.com

Tech Woes #2

My desktop pc has been playing up for a while now, which is not that surprising as it’s over 5 years old, but it’s now gotten to the point where I can’t work around the problem any more. Ergo, the Beast is going to get a new hard drive. Until I get it back I’ll have to make do with my teeny tiny laptop…if it still works.

If I don’t answer your comments, it’s because the laptop curled up its toes from neglect. I’ll catch up with everyone when the Beast is back up and running.

cheers,
Meeks

Scary PayPal Scam

This screenshot is of an email I received today. As I have used Paypal in the past [some years ago] and as the so-called transaction info. is addressed to an ‘Andrea’, I did have a moment of total dislocation. Had the scammers hacked my financial information?

And then I thought to look at the sender:

edwards5078jcb@gmail.com

I’m pretty sure that Paypal, the real Paypal, doesn’t use gmail to communicate with customers! Nevertheless, I did get a fright so I thought I’d share this scam so no-one else gets a fright…or god forbid…clicks on one of those nice, official looking links.

Why not? Because those links will not lead to anywhere good. They could lead to a site that downloads a trojan to take over the computer, or they could lead to a bogus Paypal page where they’re asked to enter their ID and password. The ID and password will fail, of course, but the scammers will now know how to access that Paypal account. Lose-lose.

If you even suspect that an email might be a scam, don’t click on any of the links! Danger Will Robinson. Danger!

As to how the scammers found me, that I don’t know. Did they send out millions of emails all addressed to women of different names in the hope that a few would hit the jackpot?

Or is there a database out there that contains my email address and first name but not my last name? That sounds a bit far fetched. I mean if they knew my email address and my first name, why would they not know my last name?

Or…given how often we’re asked to provide our email address, did some algorithm go through the data here, on this blog and profile me?

A quick check revealed that I’ve written twelve posts [counting this one] that are either about Paypal, or mention Paypal. Another check showed that ‘Andrea’ has been mentioned in 16 posts counting this one. One of those posts is actually about the singer Andrea Bocelli, but that’s still a lot of identifiers. Curiously, the one thing you won’t find on my blog is my actual email address. So how did they find me?

I may never know how these scammers do what they do, but I know one thing for sure, the person who owns the email address used by the scammers has been hacked. After I publish this post I’m going to email him/her and show them the same screenshot that you have seen. After that it’s up to them to work out how the scammers managed to hack their gmail account and use it to farm out scams to other people. Sadly, this person really doesn’t have anything to hide, not any more.

cheers,
Meeks

Why I just told the PowerPal technician to go away

Trigger warning: rant ahead

PowerPal is a free service offered to Seniors to allow them to monitor their electricity usage. Given that we’re on fixed incomes while electricity [and gas] prices soar, being able to see how much electricity our appliances use is very helpful. Free is good too. But as they used to say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

What is the price you have to pay for this free service? Geo location, that’s what.

For anyone under…50? GPS and geo location are so ubiquitous that no one even thinks about the security/privacy aspects. The truth is though, that Google – via Android mobile phones – can learn all sorts of things about us simply from knowing where we live…and where we go. That information is then shared with shadowy companies that aggregate that data to provide profiling data to big advertisers. That’s why advertisers send you all those strangely precise ads.

Those ads rake in big money, and ALL of the tech companies get their snouts in the trough, but Google and Facebook are two of the worst offenders.

I cut Facebook out of my life completely, and I tried to do the same to Google, but it’s simply not possible, not unless I move to a desert island and communicate by carrier pigeon. So I have a Youtube channel [Youtube is now owned by Google], and I have an Android [also owned by Google] mobile phone, but geo location is NOT enabled on that phone.

Mobile phones are the new black…

I was really looking forward to controlling my electricity consumption a bit better, so when I read about PowerPal on the Seniors newsletter, I jumped at the chance. Today was the day the technician came to install the hardware. I watched [fully masked] while he attached the lead from the hardware to my electricity meter. Then he helped me install the software on my phone. And only then was I informed that the app would not work without geo location enabled.

I won’t lie. For one awful moment, I stood there, silently debating whether turning on geo location would really be that bad? After all, everything was set up ready to go. And the technician said that geo location only had to be on when I wanted to check my usage…

And then reality hit home. Was I really going to turn geo location on and off every time? Of course not. I’d probably do it for the first week or so, but after that I’d either forget to turn it off, cave to convenience and keep it on, or simply not use the bloody app because it was too much of a hassle. In the meantime, Google would be able to track every move I made. Nah ah. Not gonna happen.

I know what most of you will be thinking right now – ‘This is paranoia.’ ‘Why would Google care about you?’ etc etc etc. And you’d be right. Google has no reason to care about me. I’m totally unimportant, and my life is completely boring, but that’s not the point. The point is that geo location would be one more piece in the jigsaw puzzle needed by the algorithms used by the ad networks to profile me.

Now let’s take it one step further. I’m completely unimportant, but what about my contacts? Do I know someone hiding from an abusive partner? Could a small, digital connection to me bring that person into danger?

You laugh. Ho ho, fiction writer syndrome.

Don’t be naive. Nasty people are happy to pay for apps that allow them to track their victims. Maybe not in our comfortable, middle class world, but they are out there and so are the algorithms that vacuum up every scrap of personal data we give away because…we have nothing to hide.

I don’t have anything to hide either, but maybe someone I know does. Maybe that someone is only a friend of a friend of a friend, but where’s the guarantee that a bit of throw away information won’t do them harm? Or what of the kids we’re so proud of. Do you really think that only nice people look at the photos of our kids and grandkids?

Of all the bits of information we give away daily, geo location is one of the most critical because it provides our physical location in the real world. That may not worry you; it worries me. So I told the technician to uninstall the hardware and the app.

The poor guy left so fast he must have thought he was dealing with a crazy lady. Then again, he looked to be in his early twenties. A child of the information age. Immortal. Invincible. Totally unconcerned about his privacy or online security because…it can’t happen! Right?

Okay, that’s me done. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. If anyone knows of a way to monitor energy consumption without selling my soul to Google, or paying an arm and a leg, I’m all ears.

cheers,
Meeks

Take a Free Trip to Egypt…

I’ve read both of the She books, and they’re great reads. Grab a free copy while you can. You won’t be disappointed!

Audrey Driscoll's Blog

And a visit to Miskatonic University as well. Oh, and a bit of time travel, to the early 1960s.

Both She Who Comes Forth and She Who Returns are available for free download on Amazon.
June 25th, 26th, and 27th
Just click the images.

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Harry, gone but not forgotten

This is Harry, the Bengal tiger stalking his prey.

This is Harry the pianist.

But this is how I remember Harry the best – lapping up the adulation of his fans. “Be sure to get my best side!”

Harry was also one of the most loving cats I’ve ever known.

Comments are closed.

Meeks

Recipe – Homemade [Vegan] Spinach Pasta and Dipping Sauce

The Offspring and I are omnivores through and through, but there are some vegan recipes that are so good, even committed meat-eaters like us fall in love with them. Spinach Pasta with Dipping Sauce is one such recipe. The Offspring discovered it on Youtube, and it’s become a family favourite. No pics, sorry.

As with many of my recipes, there’s an official version, and then there’s my version. You’ll find both below. Enjoy.

Official Version

Prepare one large bunch of English Spinach by washing thoroughly to make sure there are no grains of sand or grit hidden amongst the leaves.In a large soup pot, bring just enough water to the boil to cover the bottom 1/2 inch of the pot.When the water is boiling, drop the spinach leaves into the pot and quickly toss them in the boiling water. This should not take more than a minute as the spinach wilts very quickly.Take the spinach out of the water but reserve the liquid. Allow the spinach to cool before chopping.Once chopped, add 3 cups of all purpose flour [plain flour for Aussies] and 2gm of salt to the spinach and mix together by hand until it forms a dough. If it’s too dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge until ready to roll out.Fill a large soup pot with cold water and bring to the boil.While the water is coming to the boil, divide the dough into 4 -6 lumps and roll each lump out individually on a lightly floured board. Cut the rolled dough into strips.Lay the strips on baking/parchment paper until they’re all cut out.Once the water is boiling, drop the pasta into the water and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Remove the strips from the boiling water and rinse in icy water.Set aside until all of the strips are cooked.

My Version

Thaw a packet of frozen spinach… [During the pandemic we grew our own spinach, but once it went to seed I wasn’t happy about substituting supermarket spinach because it didn’t look great after ‘decontaminating’ for 3 days. Enter the frozen spinach. It made everything easier. ] Place the thawed spinach in the blender with just enough cold water to blend until smooth. At this point, the spinach looks like a beautiful green soup.Pour the blended spinach into a large bowl and add all purpose [plain] flour – a BIT AT A TIME – mixing as you go until the dough starts to hold together. Continue mixing and kneading lightly until the dough is soft but no longer super sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes. [From here on the process is the same as for the official version.] Fill a large soup pot with cold water and bring to the boil.While the water is coming to the boil, divide the dough into 4 -6 lumps and roll each lump out individually on a lightly floured board. The thinner you can get the dough the better.Cut the rolled dough into strips – we make them quite wide, say 2 inches or so. Lay the strips on baking/parchment paper until they’re all cut out.Once the water is boiling, drop the pasta into the water and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. I let them float to the surface and then give them an extra 30 seconds.Remove the strips from the boiling water and rinse in icy water. set aside until all of the strips are cooked.

NOTE: if you make too much of the dough to cook for one meal, put the uncooked portion in a freezer bag and freeze until you want to use it again. To thaw, simply take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge overnight. It should be ready to use by the time you are ready to roll it into strips. This is the only pic in the entire post:

A ball of frozen spinach dough straight from the freezer

Dipping Sauce [quite spicy]

Ingredients:

3 – 4 spring onions [they’re the long, skinny ones that look like leafy cigarettes]5 cloves of garlic1/3 of a teaspoon chilli powder1/2 a teaspoon salt1/2 a teaspoon sugar30 mls of peanut oil60 mls of Chinese dark vinegar30 mls of soy sauce3 mls of sesame oil125 mls of water

Method

Clean the spring onions and cut the whites and greens separatelyPeel and crush the garlicGently cook the white part of the spring onions in the peanut oil [to infuse the flavour].Strain the infused oil and discard the whites.Pour the hot, infused oil over the dry ingredients [and garlic] and mix.Finally, add the vinegar, soy saunce, sesame oil and water.Mix and set aside until ready to serve. Can store in the fridge for 2 – 3 days.

To serve, simply place some of the spinach pasta in individual bowls and spoon over as much of the dipping sauce as you like. Chopsticks can be used but I find the pasta is a bit slippery so stabbing it with a fork is easier.

cheers,
Meeks